The Someday Garden

Sophie and Juliette manage to get the intoxicated Oliver out of the bar and back to Lilymoor. After a struggle, they get him into a spare bedroom and put him to bed. His drunken compliments to Juliette leave her flustered, while Sophie realizes that her former attraction to Oliver has developed into something closer to an affectionate, sibling-like friendship.

Juliette then shows Sophie a small, hidden balcony accessible only through the bedroom window, explaining that she sometimes retreats there for privacy when she needs to cry. Sophie offers to let Juliette sleep on her cottage couch, but Juliette decides to stay in one of the manor’s other spare bedrooms. As they sit together on the balcony, Juliette thanks Sophie for rescuing her and calls her a “good friend.” Sophie is surprised by how much she appreciates the label, having avoided thinking of herself as anyone’s friend since Harrie’s death.

Rain falls for three days, preventing Sophie from accessing the Someday Garden. In the manor kitchen, she finds a severely hungover Oliver. She later discovers an opened RSVP from Cyrus Beck and realizes that news of his attendance at the bicentennial likely prompted Oliver’s heavy drinking. Meanwhile, Sophie suggests to Juliette that they hire Wykofski’s band to replace the string quartet that canceled.

Seeking information about the Someday Garden, Sophie asks Wykofski if he knows of any of Henry’s secret, unfinished gardens. Although he has no knowledge of one, he observes that Eula either completed or ignored much of Henry’s unfinished work. Later, Wykofski makes his mother’s Italian wedding soup for everyone, and Sophie, Eula, Oliver, and Wykofski share a comforting meal.

At the end of the day, Sophie overhears a bitter argument between Eula and Oliver. Oliver insists that he care more about Eula’s well-being than Henry’s will or the estate, but Eula remains determined to secure Lilymoor’s future. Their disagreement culminates in Oliver declaring that Henry is gone, with Eula insisting in response that he is still there. Sophie leaves rattled by the weight of their grief.

When the rain finally stops, Sophie returns to the Someday Garden. Rus is relieved to see her, admitting that he feared he had done something to drive her away. Sophie explains that her retreat was not his fault; it stemmed from her unresolved grief for Harriett. She confesses her survivor’s guilt and her fear that by changing and finding new happiness, she will become someone Harrie wouldn’t recognize.

Rus responds with his own confession. He explains that he returned to Lilymoor believing he was wanted, but after saying things he greatly regrets, he retreated into the garden. Too afraid to face the consequences of his words, he remained there and eventually fell asleep. Sophie admits that, unlike him, she sometimes wishes time could stop altogether.

Rather than judging her, Rus comforts Sophie with a hug. He assures her that her visits make his imprisonment easier and tells her how glad he is that she was the one who discovered the garden.

As August begins, Sophie continues her daily visits to the Someday Garden while tending to Lilymoor’s grounds and searching for the garden’s physical location. During a phone call, Sophie’s mother intuits that her daughter has developed feelings for someone new. When Sophie insists that she doesn’t want to “waste time” pursing a relationship when she is leaving, her mother encourages her to spend her time on people and things that make her happy, regardless of their eventual outcome.

In the garden, Rus teaches Sophie to taste the nectar from a honeysuckle flower. Their conversation turns to floriography—the Victorian language of flowers—and Rus surprises her by knowing that honeysuckle symbolizes “devoted love.” Their conversation about the meanings of different flowers, including yarrow and camilla, culminates in a passionate kiss. As they embrace, the garden seems to respond, bursting into bloom around them. Rus admits how much Sophie has changed his experience of the garden, and Sophie finally admits that she likes him, too.

Juliette arrives at Sophie’s cottage, stressed because Oliver is complicating the bicentennial guest list by adding plus-ones for everyone. While there, she discovers Sophie’s Magic 8 Ball and remarks on its unusual weight. Sophie reveals that it contains Harriett’s ashes, and she uses it for guidance when she feels lost. A handwritten note from Harrie accompanies it, promising to always be there for Sophie. Sharing this story makes Sophie consider whether talking about Harrie with others might help preserve her friend’s memory. Intrigued, Juliette playfully asks the 8 Ball if Sophie should go out for karaoke with her that night. When the answer lands on “YES, DEFINITELY,” Juliette insists that Harrie has given her opinion and that Sophie is now obligated to go.

Sophie asks Wykofski if he can build a swing for her, planning to put it in the Someday Garden. During their conversation, Wykofski mentions that everyone on the staff, including Eula, has noticed that Sophie disappears for about an hour every afternoon. Sophie avoids answering his questions about where she goes, though she internally hopes that she will not have to keep the secret much longer.

As they relax over lemonade, Wykofski tells Sophie that he will miss her when she leaves Lilymoor and suggests that she could stay. Sophie begins making a flower crown and explains that Harrie taught her how to make them when they belonged to a garden club together. When Wykofski asks whether Harrie will visit, Sophie tells him about her death. Whykofski shares that he moved to Maine after his own mother’s death, initially intending to stay only a year before discovering that Lilymoor “felt like home” (277). Sophie teaches Wykofski how to make his own flower crown, which he places on Damnit. The goose immediately hisses and charges him, sending him fleeing.

That afternoon, Sophie brings the completed swing to the Someday Garden. She and Rus share an affectionate moment. However, she admits her growing fear that she will fail to locate the garden and fulfil her promise to rescue him. In response, Rus reassures Sophie that he trusts her.

Finding Juliette completely overwhelmed with party planning, Sophie organizes an impromptu game of Scrabble with her and Wykofski to force a break. Oliver joins them, and the game begins with tense bickering between him and Juliette. However, the lighthearted competition and snacks soon ease the mood, and the group begins to bond.

During the game, Wykofski surprises everyone by revealing he attended Yale for a semester. However, he decided that it wasn’t for him, preferring to pursue a life that made him happy instead of following the expectations associated with a good education. His revelation challenges Oliver’s assumptions about him and prompts Juliette to caution against judging people by appearances. At the end of the evening, Oliver genuinely apologizes to Juliette for his behavior toward her. He offers to walk her to her car, and she accepts, signaling potential improvement in their antagonistic relationship.

The next evening, Sophie enters the Someday Garden to find that Rus has installed the swing she requested from Wykofski on a large willow tree. As they talk, Sophie notices a burn scar on Rus’s arm prompting him to discuss the greenhouse fire. He explains that the injury reminds him of his failure to save Henry’s workshop and the life he once imagined for himself at Lilymoor.

Rus admits that he has begun remembering how much he loved the estate, largely because of Sophie. He asks her to leave Lilymoor with him when he is finally free, wanting to experience a future together beyond the garden’s perpetual summer evening. Sophie, however, urges him to stay, believing he could learn to love the estate again.

Their disagreement prompts Rus to reveal a long-held secret about the fire. Although Oliver organized the party, Rus was responsible for the bonfire that accidentally ignited the greenhouse. He chose to accept full responsibility after, believing that the incident gave him the focus and purpose to leave Lilymoor and build a successful life as a lawyer. Sophie insists that he can forgive himself for a childhood mistake and that he deserves true happiness.

Moved by the conversation, Rus and Sophie become physically intimate beneath the willow tree, making love for the first time as the garden blooms around them. Sophie reflects on the happiness of feeling fully live again as she begins to recognize that moving forward does not require leaving behind the people she has lost.